Apparatus for continuous restaurant counter place mats



June 4, 1963 W. J. GORDON ETAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 31, 1961 1m 1963 w. J. J. GORDON ETAL 3,

APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS RESTAURANT COUNTER PLACE MATS Filed May 31. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ilnited rates Patent 3,692,045 APPARATUS FOR CGNTINUO'US RESTAURANT COUNTER PLACE MATS William .I. J. Gordon, Cambridge, Carleton S. Mardeu, Boston, and Charles Richard Sperry, Arlington, Mass, assignors to Linen Supply Association of America, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed May 31, 1961, Ser- No. 113,886 8 Claims. (Cl. 1tl85tl) The present invention relates to an apparatus for providing place mats for restaurant counters using a continuous strip of material which may be readily moved to position a clean area in place of a soiled portion.

Rightly or wrongly, one of the bases upon which a member of the public will evaluate an eating establishment is by the character and quality of the place setting that is provided. In the higher priced eating establishments, such as the dining room or the better class hotels, careful attention is given to the place setting, eg the linens, both for the table cloths and napkin, the silverware, etc. Where less expensive meals are served, it has not been economically possible in the past to provide the same quality of place setting. Thus, for example, at a restaurant counter it is most common that the bare surface of the counter top is utilized without any covering thereover. However, even here, some of the better class of restaurants have been in the practice of utilizing individual place mats of paper, or the like, to give the customer a little more of the feeling of gracious dining. These place mats are of inexpensive quality and thus are disposed of after each use rather than any effort being made to clean them.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a restaurant with a means of giving itspatrons the feeling of gracious dining to even a greater extent than can be obtained through the use of place mats, yet at a cost which is competitive with the use of place mats. Through the use of the present invention the foundation of the customers place setting, i.e. the place covering, is a cloth covering which simulates the appearance of a tablecloth. The cloth is supplied from a continuous roll and the mechanism of the present invention permits the changing from a soiled area to a clean, fresh portion by a simple and easy manipulation. While the continuous roll may be of other materials, eg paper or plastic, cloth is preferred. Even though the actual area used per place setting is substantially greater than the area of a counter top normally covered by the place mats commonly used, the cost per place setting of this cloth covering is quite competitive with the cost of paper place mats.

One of the principal advantages of our invention is that it is simple and foolproof, with little to get out of order and require repairs. This is important in several respects. In the first place, the initial cost of the apparatus is quite nominal. Secondly, it will be used by all types of individuals with the specific persons using it varying from day to day. By reason of its simplicity, a new individual does not require any extended instruction such as might be necessary with a more intricate device. Furthermore, they cannot misuse it in a manner to create a malfunction or damage. Should minor repairs be necessary, e.g. replacement of a broken pull cord, these can be made easily and simply.

Additional objects and advantages include: the loading of a new roll of fresh mat material can easily be performed; the apparatus all can be mounted at the rear of the counter with substantially no projection above the top of the counter, whereby the room provided for a customers occupancy is not obstructed, the ability of the waitress to serve the customer is not impaired and the removal of a soiled roll and its replacement by a fresh roll is facilitated; the mat may be locked in place to prevent its accidental displacement; the use of the invention does not impair, but rather enhances, the appearance of a restaurant counter; no electrical connections are required; the spindle upon which the soiled portion of the material is rolled can easily be removed and reinserted in the apparatus and may easily be removed from the roll of soiled material; and crumbs and other debris which may be moved along from the counter top with the soiled portion of the roll will not contaminate or impair the appearance of the fresh portion of the roll.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: 5

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating a number of the embodiments of the present invention positioned along a restaurant counter;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View of a single embodiment as it appears when it is open for the removal of a soiled roll and the replacement of a fresh roll;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the embodiment of FIGURE 2 with the cover plate removed and a portion broken away;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged partial section as seen at line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section through the center of the apparatus;

FIGURE 6 is a section taken at line 6--'6 of FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a section taken at line 77 of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a view of the spindle on which the soiled material is rolled.

FIGURE 1 illustrates a restaurant counter as viewed from the back, or service side, thereof. It illustrates a plurality of the embodiments (it) through 10 of the present invention extending along the counter. The customer, who would be seated at the rear of FIGURE 1 facing the viewer, is provided with the fresh table covering. For example, if he were seated at embodiment 10, he would have in front of him a table covering 11. As best seen in FIGURE 5, this covering 11 would extend to the front of and about the front of the space at which he was seated. The material that is to form the place covering 11 may be suitably decorated with designs and/ or indicia.

At the rear of the space at which the customer was seated, the covering would extend under and thereafter be obscured by a tray :12 which might be used for holding condiments, etc. The space between the covering at each seating position comprises a molding 13 which, as best seen in FIGURE 6, conceals the edges of the covering 11. The space between tray 12 and the platform defines an opening leading to the dirty roll compartment of the device as hereinafter described. Portions 14 of the molding are held in place by pins 15. -By sliding the portions .14 with the pins 15 away from the central part 16 of the molding, the channel with-in which the edge of covering 11 is positioned can be cleaned. In normal use such cleaning is not necessary more than about once a day, or the like.

Each embodiment 10 includes a case or container at the rearward side of the counter which is defined by two end enclosures 17 and 18, a hinged back flap 19, and a hinged cover 20. It also has a back 21 and a plurality of spaced, bottom, roll supports 22. A divider 23- is hinged on a rod 24 extending between enclosures 17 and 18. Divider defines a clean roll compartment below the divider and a dirty roll compartment above it. The edge of divider 23 along rod 24 is spaced from back 21 to provide an opening which leads from the clean roll compartment to slot 93 in the counter top. Divider 23 termi- 3 nates at a crumb tray 25 along the front of the clean roll compartment. Divider-23 has a cutout 26 (FTGURE 2) to permit it to swing by the shaft on which the spindle is mounted, as hereinafter described.

A shaft 28 is journaled in a bearing 29 and in a cross bar 30. The latter extends between the front and back walls of end enclosure 18. Bearing 29 is fixed in the side wall of end enclosure 18 by a toothed washer 31 which engages the periphery of the bearing and abuts one side of said well (see FIGURE 4). At the opposite side of the wall the bearing forms a flange 32. In juxtaposition to flange 32 a pin 33 extends through shaft 28 to engage spindle 34, as hereinafter described.

A reel 36 is rotatably mounted on shaft 2%. Reel 36 has a large peripheral slot 37 within which a pull cord 38 is wound and a relatively smaller slot 39 within which the chain 40 of a pull chain device generally 41 can be wound. One end of chain 40 is hooked on a pin 42. The other end is Wound on a reel 43 of device 41. Reel 43 is affixed to a rotatable shaft 44. A coil spring 45 has one end afiixed to case 46 and the other end afiixed to shaft 44. Spring 45 is so positioned that it will resist chain .6 being withdrawn from case 46 and will rewind chain 4! about reel 43 when the pulling force on chain 40 is removed. Case 46 is aifixed to a mounting bracket 47. Pull chain devices 41 are a standard item of manufacture and can be purchased commercially.

One end of cord 38 extends into an opening 49 in reel 36 and is held in place by a set screw Stl. After being wound about reel 36, cord 38 extends out through the opening in a bushing 51 in the back wall of end enclosure 18. A knob 52 is aflixed to the end of cord 38. Cord 38 is so wound on reel 36 that when the knob 52 is pulled the reel will rotate in the direction indicated by arrow 53. Rotation in this direction withdraws chain 40 from device ll and winds the chain within the slot 39 of reel 36. When cord 38 is released, spring 45 rewinds chain 44) on reel 43, thus rotating reel 36 in the reverse of the direction indicated by arrow 53 to rewind cord 33 on reel 36.

Between reel 36 and bracket 39 is a ratchet apparatus comprising a toothed wheel 55 secured to shaft 23 by a set screw 56. About the periphery of wheel 55 are teeth 57, which are engaged by a dog 58. Dog 53 is positioned in a recess 59 in one side of the end of reel 36 and is pivotally mounted on a pin 60. A wire spring 61 has one end engaged in reel 36 and the other end in dog 53 to urge dog 58 toward ratchet wheel 55. It will be readily apparent that as reel 36 and dog '3 are rotated in the direction indicated by arrow 5'3, the dog will engage Wheel 55 to rotate shaft 28 at the same time. When reel 36 is rotated in the reverse of the direction indicated by arrow 53, dog 58 will merely slip over the teeth 57 of wheel 55 so that shaft 23 remains stationary.

At one end of spindle 34 is an axial opening 63 whereby the spindle will slip over the end of shaft 23, as best seen in FIGURE 4. A pair of diametrically opposed slots 64 on the same end of spindle 34 provide clearance for pin 33. Thus, spindle 34 is rotatably engaged with shaft 28. Immediately adjacent the same end of spindle 34- is boss 65. As best seen in FIGURES 7 and 8, the opposite end of spindle 34 has a journal section 66 which is received in and journaled in an opening 62 in the wall of end enclosure 17. Between the two ends, spindle 34 is comically tapered, with the large end of the cone being at boss 65 and the small end at journal section 66. Intermediate the two ends is a cutout 67 over which extends a finger 68. The leaf spring 69 is riveted to the wall of end enclosure 17, in which section 66 is journaled, and overlies the opening 62 through which the journal section 66 extends. Spring 69 urges spindle 34 toward shaft 28. Spindle 34 preferably is knurled about the exterior thereof.

Referring particularly to FIGURES 3, 5 and 6, a looking bar 71 is positioned in juxtaposition to back wall 21.

A pair of pins 72 extend through slots 73 in wall 21. At one end pins 72 are secured to locking bar 71. At the other end pins 72 form heads 74. Thus locking bar 71 is held against wall 21, but is' movable vertically with respect thereto. At the opposite side of wall 21 is a lever 76 which is pivotally mounted on pin 77 secured to wall 21. A pin 73 extends through slot 79 in wall 21. At one side of the wall pin 78 is pivotally secured to lever 76 and at the opposite side it is loosely secured to locking bar 71.

A finger 81 is pivotally mounted on a pin 82 secured to wall 21. Finger 81 extends through an opening in flange 83 of lever 76. Finger 81 forms an abutment 84. A compression spring encircles finger 81 between abutment 84 and flange 83. Thus finger 81 in connection with spring 85 forms an over-the-center toggle so that lever 76 is urged either to the downwardly or the upwardly position, as the case may be.

An actuating lever 87 is pivotally mounted on a pin 83 secured to cross bar 30. A knob or handle 89 is secured to one end of actuating lever 87. The opposite end of lever 87 extends through a slot 90 in wall 21 and is hooked into the end of lever 76. Thus if knob 89 is moved to the downwardly position, the left end of lever '76 is raised (as viewed in FIGURE 6) and the right end is lowered. This lowers pin 73 and locking bar 71. The over-the-center toggle provided by finger 31 holds lever 76 in this position. If knob 39 is raised, the left end of lever 76 is lowered and the right end raised. Locking bar 71 is thereby raised and urged upwardly by the over-thecenter toggle action of finger 3i and spring 85.

As best seen in FEGURE 5, the counter top 92 is provided with a slot 93 through which the length of material extends. Above slot 93 is the support portion or platform 94- of counter top 92. Support portion 94 has a rounded nose 95.

To load the device, a fresh roll 97 of the material which is to provide place settings 11 is inserted into the bottom of the compartment between end enclosures 17 and 18. This is done by opening the various covers, as illustrated in FIGURE 2. The fresh roll rests on supports 22. The end of the roll is run upwardly behind divider 23. Thereafter divider 23 may be lowered across the top of roll 97. The raised end is now threaded through slot 93. The threading may be facilitated by inserting a wire through slot 93 to pull or push the end of the material through the slot. After passing through the slot, the end of the material is brought about nose 95 of support portion 94 and back across the top of the support portion. The end of the material is then threaded under tray 12 and down about spindle 34 which was inserted after divider 23 was lowered. A tab on the end of the material may be hooked under finger 68 on spindle 34, or merely a central portion of the end of the material may be tucked under that finger. Spindle 34 is rotated several turns to securely engage the material on the spindle. The side edges of the material may be pushed toward the center across the top of support portion 94, so that those side edges may be slipped under molding 13, as illustrated in FIGURE 6.

Throughout the foregoing, the locking bar 71 should be in the lowered position illustrated in FIGURE 6. Thereafter knob 89 may be raised to raise locking bar 71. The top edge of locking bar 71 presses the material of the roll 97 against the underside of support portion 94. With the locking bar in this position, the material cannot be moved.

After a customer has been served and departed, knob 89 is moved to the lowered position illustrated in the drawings. This lowers locking bar 71 so that the material from roll 97 is free to move into and through slot 93. Knob 52 is now pulled outwardly, whereby cord 38 rotates reel 36. Spindle 34 is, in turn, rotated in the direction indicated by arrow 53, winding the soiled place mat portion 11 onto the spindle and building up a roll 925 of soiled material. At the same time, of course, a fresh length of material from roll 97 is positioned across the top of the counter to provide a fresh mat 11 for the next customer.

Some users will prefer to make one extended pull of cord 38. Others may make several. Either procedure may be followed since the pull chain device 41 will retract cord 38 as soon as the pull thereon is released, and the ratchet provided by wheel 55 and dog 58 will cause spindle 34 only to rotate in one direction.

When the roll 97 of fresh material has been exhausted, cover 2! is raised. By grasping soiled roll 98 and urging the roll and spindle toward spring 69, spindle 34 may be moved sufiiciently far in that direction, against the resistance of spring 69, to disengage the opposite end of the spindle from shaft 28 and pin 33. Of course, once the end of spindle 34 is disengaged from shaft 28, it may be moved in the opposite direction to disengage the journal section 66 from the opening 62 in which it is journaled. The soiled roll and spindle are then removed.

To facilitate removal of the spindle from the soiled roll 98, a bifurcated lever 100 is mounted on the top of end enclosure 17. Lever 100 is slidably mounted so that it may be extended (as illustrated in FIGURE 2) or retracted below cover 20, as desired. The outstanding end of lever 100 has a slot 101 defining a pair of fingers 162. Spindle 34 is inserted into slot 101 with fingers 102 extending to each side of spindle 34 between the end of the soiled roll 98 and the boss 65. A downward pull on the soiled roll 98 will extract the spindle 34- from the roll 98. This is facilitated by the tapering of the central portion of spindle 34, as illustrated in FIG- URE 8. The tab or other portion of the material that was inserted under finger 68 will easily slide out since the soiled roll is being moved toward journal section 66, and thus away from the end of finger 68.

Soiled roll 98, if of cloth, is put in the dirty linens to be laundered. A fresh roll 97 is reinserted and the end threaded through slot 93 about nose 95 and under tray 12. After divider 23 has been lowered, the spindle may be reinserted by first inserting the nose of journal section 65 into the opening 62 and moving the spindle 34 against the pressure of spring 69 until the opposite end of spindle 34- will clear shaft 28. Thereafter, spindle 34 is moved in the opposite direction to engage the spindle and the shaft. The end of the fresh roll material is now started about spindle 34 and several turns made to securely engage the two. Thereafter, back 19 is raised and cover 20 is closed.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiment is for the purpose of complying with 35 U.S.C. 112 and should not be construed as imposing unnecessary limitations upon the appended claims inasmuch as modification and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. A restaurant counter device adapted to be mounted on a support at counter height and used with a roll of flexible mat material, said device comprising: a platform extending from back to front of said counter; a passageway below said platform extending from back to front; a closed container mounted at the back of said platform partially above and partially below said platform, said compartment having access door means on the side thereof away from said platform, a divider hinged horizontally at one side to said container and defining a clean roll compartment in the bottom of said container and a dirty roll compartment above said clean roll compartment, said divider having trough forming means on the opposite side thereof, a first opening in said dirty roll compartment, and a second opening communicating with said clean roll compartment and said passageway, whereby with said roll in said clean roll compartment said material may be drawn out through said second opening and passageway to the front of the platform, across the top of the platform and in said first opening to the dirty roll compartment; 3. spindle rotatably mounted in said dirty roll compartment, said spindle being removable from said compartment; means on said spindle to engage said material; and means engaging said spindle to rotate said spindle, said means including a coiled cord, a handle on the end of said cord, spring means urging said cord into the coiled position, a rotatable member with the cord engaging the rotatable member to rotate it as the cord is coiled and uncoiled, and a ratchet coupling the rotatable member and spindle.

2. A restaurant counter device adapted to be mounted on a support at counter height and used with a roll of flexible mat material, said device comprising: a platform extending from back to front; a passageway below said platform extending from back to front; a closed container mounted at the back of said platform, said container having access door means, a divider therein defining a clean roll compartment and a dirty roll compartment, a first opening in said dirty roll compartment, and a second opening communicatnig with said clean roll compartment and said passageway, whereby with said roll in said clean roll compartment said material may be drawn out through sid second opening and passageway to the front of the platform, across the top of the platform and in said first opening to the dirty roll compartment; a spindle rotatably mounted in said dirty roll compartment, said spindle being removable from said compartment; means engaging said spindle to rotate said spindle, said means including a coiled cord, a handle on the end of said cord, spring means urging said cord into the coiled position, a rotatable member with the cord engaging the rotatable member to rotate it as the cord is coiled and uncoiled, and a ratchet coupling the rotatable member and spindle; locking means including a locking bar spanning a substantial portion of the width of said material between said openings, said bar being moveable between a first position at which said locking means clamps said material against movement and a second position at which said material is free to move between said openings; and means connected to said locking bar to move said bar from one to the other of said two positions.

3a A device to provide place covering for restaurant counters utilizing a roll of covering material, said device comprising: a container adapted to be mounted at the back of said counter and having a clean roll compartment and a dirty roll compartment; means defining a path for said material from said clean roll compartment, beneath the top of said counter from back to front, across the top of said counter from front to back and into said dirty roll compartment; a holding member having a bifurcated end defining a pair of spaced fingers mounted on said container; a shaft rotatably mounted in said container with an end extending into said dirty roll compartment; means to rotate said shaft including a reel rotata-b-ly mounted on said shaft, a pull cord wound on said reel, means connecting said reel and said container to urge said reel in one direction of rotation; and a ratchet connecting said reel and said shaft to rotate said shaft when said reel is rotated in the reverse of said direction of rotation; and a spindle in said dirty roll compartment, one end of said spindle engaging said shaft, the other end of said spindle being journaled in said container, the ends of said spindle being disengageable from said shaft and container respectively whereby the spindle with a roll of soiled material thereon may be removed, said spindle having a boss thereon adjacent said one end, said spindle being larger in cross-section adjacent said one end than it is adjacent the other end with the spindle tapering in size therebetween.

4. A device to provide place covering for restaurant counters utilizing a roll of covering material, said device comprising: a container adapted to be mounted at the back or said counter and having a clean roll compartment and a dirty roll compartment; means defining a path for said material from said clean roll compartment, beneath the top of said counter from back to front, across the top of said counter from front to back and into said dirty roll compartment; a shaft rotatably mounted in said container with an end extending into said dirty roll compartment; means to rotate said shaft including a reel rotat-' ably mounted on said shaft, a pull cord wound on said reel, means connecting said reel and said container to urge said reel in one direction of rotation; and a ratchet connecting said reel and said shaft to rotate said shaft when said reel is rotated in the reverse of said direction of rotation; and a spindle in said dirty roll compartment, one end of said spindle engaging said shaft, the other end of said spindle being journaled in said container, the ends of said spindle being disengagea ble from said shaft and container respectively whereby the spindle with a roll of soiled material thereon may be removed; locking means including a locking bar spanning a substantial portion of the width of said material between said openings, said bar being moveable between a first position at which said locking means clamps said material against movement and a second position at which said material is free to move between said openings; and means connected to said locking bar to move said bar from one to the other of said two positions.

5. An apparatus for place mats counters mounted on a support at counter height and adapted to be used with a roll of flexible mat material, said apparatus comprising: a platform extending substantially from the back to the front of said counter; a passageway defined below said platform in said counter and extending substantially from the back to the front of said counter; a closed mat container mounted at the back of said platform, said mat container having access openings therein on a portion thereof extending away from said platform; a divider member disposed within said mat container and adapted when disposed therein to define a clean roll compartment and a dirty roll compartment, said dirty roll compartment being defined vertically above said clean roll compartment; a first opening defined in said dirty roll compartment; a second opening defined within said clean roll compartment and communicating with said passageway below said platform, whereby with said roll in said clean roll compartment said material may be drawn out through the second opening and passageway to the front of the platform, across the top of the platform and into said first opening to the dirty roll compartment; a spindle mounted in said dirty roll compartment, said spindle being removable from said compartment; and means engaging said spindle to rotate said spindle, said means including a coiled cord, a handle on the end of said cord, spring means urging said cord into the coiled position, a rotatable member adapted to be engaged by said cord and to be rotated by said cord when said cord is withdrawn from the coiled relation about said rotatable member.

6. A continuous mat apparatus for counters adapted to be used with a roll of flexible mat material, said apparatus comprising: a platform extending substantially from the back to the front of said counter; a passageway defined below said platform and extending substantially from the back to the front of said counter; a closed mat container mounted at the back of said platform, said container havin access door means; a divider pivotally hinged at one side thereof to said container and defining a clean roll compartment and a dirty roll compartment in said mat container; a first opening defined in the dirty roll compartment; a second opening defined in and communicating with said clean roll compartment and said passageway; a spindle removably rotatably mounted in said dirty r011 compartment; and means adapted to engage and to rotate said spindle including a rotatable shaft connected to said spindle, a reel rotatably mounted on said shaft, a cord wound about said reel, said cord adapted to rotate said reel when it is unwound from said reel and thereby to rotate said spindle, whereby with said mat roll in said clean roll compartment said material may be drawn out through said second opening and passageway to the front of the platform, across the top of the platform and in said first opening to the dirty roll compartment.

7. A device to provide place covering for restaurant counters utilizing a roll of covering material, said device comprising: a container adapted to be mounted at the back of said counter and defining a clean roll compartment and a dirty roll compartment; means defining a path for said covering material from said clean roll compartment, beneath the top of said counter from said container to the front of said counter across the top of the counter from the front thereof and then back to the container and into said dirty roll compartment; a shaft rotatably mounted in said container having one end thereof extending into said dirty roll compartment; means to rotate said shaft including a reel rotatably mounted on said shaft and a pull cord wound on said reel, said reel being rotated when said cord is unwound therefrom to thereby rotate said shaft; and a spindle adapted to engage the end of said shaft extending into said dirty roll compartment, the other end of said spindle being journaled in said container, the ends of said spindle being disengageable from said shaft and from said container, respectively, whereby the spindle may conveniently be removed from said dirty roll compartment.

8. A restaurant counter device adapted to be mounted on a support and to be used with a roll of flexible mat material, said device comprising: a platform extending substantially from the back to the front of said counter; a passageway defined below said platform extending substantially from the back to the front of said counter; a closed container mounted to said platform, said container having access door means on the side thereof away from said platform; a divider pivotally connected at one side to said container and defining a clean roll compartment in the'bot-tom of said container and a dirty roll compartment above said clean roll compartment; a first opening defined in said dirty roll compartment; a second opening communicating with said clean roll compartment and said passageway, whereby with said roll in said clean roll compartment said material may be drawn out through said second opening and passageway to the front of the platform, across the top of the platform and into said first opening; a spindle rotatably mounted in said dirty roll compartment, said spindle being removable from said compartment; and means engaging said spindle to rotate said spindle, said means including a coiled cord, a handle on the end of said cord, spring means urging said cord into the coiled position, a rotatable member with the cord engaging the rotatable member to rotate it as the cord is coiled and uncoiled, and a ratchet coupling the rotatable member and spindle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 452,930 Tack May 26, 1891 884,627 Trevellian Apr. 14, 1908 1,748,179 Koplin Feb. 25, 1930 1,934,952 Shoemaker Nov. 14, 1933 2,012,437 Segal Aug. 27, 1935 2,283,997 Jensen May 26, 1942 2,652,657 Joy Sept. 22, 1953 

